House GOP targets songs and sunburns

The looming debt ceiling crisis hasn’t prevented some lawmakers from losing focus on other legislative priorities, like eliminating a sunburn awareness program and blocking federal agencies from writing songs.

With the Interior-EPA 2012 spending bill on the House floor and no final vote in sight, GOP lawmakers have seized the opportunity to try to block agency programs both large and small.

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Rep. Marsha Blackburn, for example, has an amendment that would halt funding for the EPA’s SunWise program, which teaches schoolchildren about the dangers of overexposure to the sun.

The Tennessee Republican has filed a separate amendment to prohibit the National Park Service from maintaining the residence of any former U.S. president — unless the United States holds the unconditional fee title.

The rider is intended to block taxpayer funds from going toward the maintenance of former President Jimmy Carter’s Plains, Ga., home, according to Blackburn’s office.

Texas Republican Rep. Blake Farenthold wants to block the government from taking any action to reduce the legal speed limit in Padre Island National Seashore. The superintendent of the seashore last year announced a reduced seasonal speed limit in some areas to protect nesting sea turtles.

New Mexico Republican Rep. Steve Pearce is hoping to prohibit the EPA from writing or developing any rules or guidance unless the agency is basing that rule on “hard” science.

Federal agencies funded under the act also wouldn’t be able to “develop, create or carry out” any song under an amendment from Ohio Republican Rep. Bill Johnson.

A Johnson aide wasn’t immediately available to comment on the purpose for the amendment, but the EPA came under fire recently from Senate Republican John Barrasso who cited a rap song about climate change as an example of frivolous spending.

The EPA also advertises on its website a song to teach kids about sun safety.

Democratic Rep. Ed Markey of Massachusetts accused Republicans of failing to take the spending bill seriously.

“If you look at all these amendments, you’d have to conclude that House Republicans want kids to get more sunburns … and there should be no music,” said Markey, the ranking member on the Natural Resources Committee. “At such a serious time in America, these are not serious proposals from House Republicans.”

To be sure, Republicans aren’t the only ones offering parochial riders. New Jersey Democratic Rep. Rush Holt, for example, offered an amendment to block funding for oil and natural gas leasing and related activities in the North and Mid-Atlantic.

Still, it's Republicans who are more eager to tack on riders to block Obama administration priorities, and they’re more likely to get them passed in the GOP-led House.

About 200 amendments had been filed to the Interior-EPA bill earlier this week, with about 30 from Democrats, according to a Democratic Appropriations Committee aide. It’s unclear of course, which if any of the amendments will actually be offered and voted on.

House GOP Appropriations Committee spokeswoman Jennifer Hing said allowing members to offer amendments is a core democratic principle and the very nature of "open rules" — the traditional way appropriations measures are considered on the floor.

“While this may take more time, this process allows the views of members and those they represent to be heard, which is good for this institution and the country, and ultimately produces better and more bipartisan legislation,” she said.

This article first appeared on POLITICO Pro at 7:02 p.m. on July 28, 2011.

Readers' Comments (24)

It is NOT the federal government's job to advise the public about "sunburns". This is now common knowledge - the same as "water is wet" and smoking is bad for one's health. Teaching these basics of life is the job of parents, schools, teachers.

Magnifiy this by hundreds of thousands of little government programs and we end up with the stupidity we now labor under where they just keep taxing and spending more and more.

This kind of retarded mentality from the Democrats over many decades is exactly how we end up in these fiscal crisis.

The taxpayers do NOT want to pay the federal government slackers to sit around all day writing songs. This is iconic of what is wrong with Washington and the Liberal stupidity that is destroying this nation.

I have concluded that Republicans have totally forgotten about jobs and job creation. They have not forgotten about their passion for destroying our Federal Government and its employees. Those employees are people, yes, they really are people! They pay bills, raise and school children, pay mortgages, go to church and do everything people in private enterprise do. They are not the evil ones, they are not the cause for America's economic struggles, yet Republicans act like they are some kind of leeches on society. The assumption that government employees are slackers is just that, an assumption, and assumptions are almost always far removed from fact.

The EPA exists to protect the environment which we have been steadily destroying for decades and it exists to educate and protect its citizens. I hope Republicans fail in their quest to destroy it.

I live in Florida and can attest that there are plenty of people in pain who do not know this lesson. Not sure if it's the government's job to teach them - but given the public health aspect of this (we do spend a lot on treating people for skin cancer) - perhaps some public campaign is important.

Sun block, you repubs think it's dumb. Well when you get cancer from the sun and then go to get treatment from your doctor and your insurance says no, it's not covered. You just remember what you said about the EPA. And if you get treatment, they will pay for it, but not all of it, and you will find out what the real cost is. I'm recovering from cancer, and if the EPA can stop ONE person from getting it, then it's worth the money. And no I do not have cancer caused by the sun, but the treatment is just as bad on you and your family. The real reason why you repubs hate the EPA, they will not allow you to destroy the Air, Water, and Soil, by dumping waste where ever you want.

"Don't forget to protect your skin/The part of the body we're living in" is one of the lines in the song. I hate to agree with tea-party-types, but COME ON! The idea that someone was paid to write and record this ditty is ridiculous. What rhymes with "malignant melanoma"?

The EPA came under fire recently from Senate Republican John Barrasso who cited a rap song about climate change as an example of frivolous spending.

STOP SPENDING GOVERNMENT FUNDS FOR PROPAGANDA.

New NASA Data Casts Doubt On Global Warming Models

“Satellite data from NASA covering 2000 through 2011 cast doubt on current computer models predicting global warming, according to a new study.

The data shows that much less heat is retained by carbon dioxide in the earth’s atmosphere than is assumed in current models.

‘There is a huge discrepancy between the data and the forecasts that is especially big over the oceans,’ said Dr. Roy Spencer, a co-author of the study and research scientist at the University of Alabama.”

Additional Information On The “Ocean’s Missing Heat” By Katsman and van Oldenborgh 2011.

Klimaat wereld Tracing the upper ocean’s 'missing heat' 28 juli 2011 Caroline Katsman and Geert Jan van Oldenborgh, KNMI Against expectations, the upper ocean (from 0 to 700 meter depth) has not warmed since 2003. A recent KNMI study shows that an eight-year interruption of the rise expected from global warming is not exceptional. It can be explained by natural variability of the climate, in particular the climate oscillation El Niño in the Pacific Ocean and changes in ocean currents in the North Atlantic Ocean. Recent observations point to an upcoming resumption of the heating of the upper ocean.

Observations of the sea water temperature show that the upper ocean has not warmed since 2003. This is remarkable as it is expected the ocean would store that the lion's share of the extra heat retained by the Earth due to the increased concentrations of greenhouse gases. The observation that the upper 700 meter of the world ocean have not warmed for the last eight years gives rise to two fundamental questions:

1.What is the probability that the upper ocean does not warm for eight years as greenhouse gas concentrations continue to rise? 2.As the heat has not been not stored in the upper ocean over the last eight years, where did it go instead?

Another house bill that's going NOWHERE in the senate. But further demonstrates that JOBS is of no concern to pubes under a democratic president. In fact, preventing any legislation concerning jobs from the house floor. What's up with that?

"Don't forget to protect your skin/The part of the body we're living in" is one of the lines in the song. I hate to agree with tea-party-types, but COME ON! The idea that someone was paid to write and record this ditty is ridiculous. What rhymes with "malignant melanoma"?

It was written with children in mind. They like stuff like that. Thank Ke**a, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry,Rhianna, Britney Spears, Justine Bieber etc. for how much ass music sucks today.